Volume sensitivity: 2 sets good. 3 sets bad. Your experience?
I am 58yo with relatively crappy genetics.
And although I feel and look better and stronger than I have in years thanks to SS & BBP, no matter how I try to ignore it I can definitely feel that my ability to recover has definitely diminished.
Dr. Sullivan states that us master athletes (such a diplomatic name) are volume sensitive. That's definitely my case. But I am surprised HOW sensitive.
I am only about 2.5 months into my NLP. I am following the Basic 4-day Novice Type 3 Model (Mon: SQ, Tue: B, DL, Thu: SQ, Fri: P,DL) with the addition of chinup on Tue and Thu.
I've noticed, especially on SQ days, a significant difference between doing 2 sets of 5 vs 3 sets of 5. After a few weeks of experimentation I've noticed the following pattern:
The day after a workout with 2 working sets, I feel great and energetic with no muscle soreness at all.
The day after a workout with 3 working sets (and often the day after that), I feel anywhere from tired to wiped.
I am somewhat surprised that a simple 3rd set, just 5 more reps at the same weight, would have that much of an effect on recovery.
... On the other hand, 3 sets is 50% more reps than 2 sets. So it may not seem like much, but it is.
A couple of questions for my fellow master athletes:
1) Have you also experienced a similar response to 2 sets vs 3 sets volume?
2) As long as I am making NLP progress, what am I giving up by omitting the 3rd set? Stamina? Conditioning?
To put it another way, take two workout sequences for, say, beginner SQ:
A: 175x5x3 ... 180x5x3 ... 185x5x3 ...
B: 175x5x2 ... 180x5x2 ... 185x5x2 ...
What is A giving up to B in exchange for less fatigue and soreness?
Thank you in advance for your insights.